Page 73 of Murder in Blackfriars

“Well, thank God for that,” Mr. Fielding said. “What are these rivals smuggling that has Naismith so unhappy he’s willing to recruit the man who’s vowed to kill him to help? Antiquities? Weapons? Brandy? Opium?”

“No.” Daniel’s smile became one of delight. “The ships themselves.”

24

The three of us regarded Daniel in what must have been satisfying perplexity. His smile deepened, and he returned to his tea.

“How d’ye smuggle a wholeship?” Mr. Grimes was the first to ask. “Sounds daft, if you ask me.”

“You change the paperwork,” Daniel said, as though this was a minor detail. “You need the cooperation of the clerks in shipping offices and possibly whoever is in charge of loading and unloading cargo, but if those men have lost heavily in a gaming house and are desperate to pay off their debt…”

I sat up straight. “You mean Mr. Draper is threatening these men with ruin or worse, unless they make certain a ship coming up the Thames is diverted to docks he chooses?”

“Docks he owns,” Daniel corrected me. “Or at least, a space on the docks. He couldn’t do this in one of the big dockyards, because it would be noticed more quickly. The River Police keep their eyes on the large clippers from China and otherplaces. But small ships bringing things from Amsterdam or the Baltic or Africa can sail on past the large dockyards and put in at the smaller ones under Blackfriars Bridge or elsewhere.”

“Cheeky sod,” Mr. Fielding growled. “Then Draper can comb through the cargo and sell off the most valuable things. Which might include brandy, antiquities, or opium.”

“Or weapons,” Daniel finished. “Some of these small traders will ship anything that brings in a profit. They might not be too careful about what they carry, if someone pays them enough money.”

“The people who commissioned the ship to haul guns or opium will be a bit annoyed if their cargo never arrives where it is supposed to,” I pointed out. “How does Mr. Draper deal with that?”

“I imagine he has men working for him who will dissuade the cargo’s owners from complaining too much,” Daniel said. “Many of Draper’s men—and Draper himself, I discovered—used to work for Naismith, and some still do. Naismith is irritated enough that he’s thinking of purging his ranks of the disloyal. He is aging and worries that his underlings are itching to take over.”

“Don’t sound sorry for him,” Mr. Fielding said. “He’s a right nasty villain.”

“Who is claiming he had nothing to do with Carter’s death,” Daniel said, his voice falsely light. “Said it in all sincerity.” He shrugged. “He might be right, but even if he didn’t, he will damn well know who did. And tell me.”

Mr. Fielding sent him a baleful stare. “Is this the agreement you came to? You eliminate Draper and his business, and Naismith tells you who really murdered Carter? If you can believe him.”

“Something like that. I also let him know what would happen if he lied to me.”

Mr. Fielding snorted a laugh. “You can’t threaten Naismith. The police will never invade his territory or arrest him, and he knows it. They’re either too terrified, or else they’re taking payments from him.”

“Mr. Monaghan, perhaps, would not be afraid,” I suggested.

Daniel glanced at me. “You could be right, Kat. He hates corruption even more than he does villains.”

“So, what do we do?” I asked. “Go in against hardened men at Blackfriars or tell Mr. Naismith we refuse to help him? I assume he threatened you with something dire if you decided not to take on the task.”

“Oh, he did.” Daniel looked away. “But I agreed, so it’s not a difficulty.”

He pressed his lips together and did not elaborate on what that threat was. I knew he would not tell me, at least not now. It might be me Mr. Naismith threatened, but not necessarily. Daniel had a son he loved, and he had other friends, like Mr. Thanos, he’d adamantly protect. He’d even agree to Naismith’s terms to protect Mr. Fielding.

“If you bring in the police at Blackfriars, you will have to prove the ships are being diverted,” I said. “If the paperwork has been tampered with, how will they know what is supposed to be there and what isn’t?”

“Yes, it is a tricky problem.” Daniel stretched his fingers, an avid expression taking over. He enjoyed tricky problems. “Mr. Thanos, that clever lad, might help there. If we can get hold of some of the records, he’d be able to tell how they’d been altered.”

“Mr. Thanos is painfully honest,” I said. “He could not disguise himself as a clerk for a shipping agent and get himself into their offices. He’d never fool anyone.”

“No, but there are others who can.” Daniel sent a meaningful look at Mr. Fielding, who grimaced. “Thanos need only examine the papers we bring him.Youcertainly aren’t going anywhere near shipping offices or docks in Blackfriars, Kat. This is an underhanded and dangerous investigation now.”

“I’m not such a fool,” I said in some irritation. “I’d be useless going up against gangs of dockworkers and Mr. Draper’s ruffians.”

“Good,” I heard Daniel mutter under his breath.

“I presume one of those ruffians murdered Mr. Banks,” I continued thoughtfully. “I wonder why they killed him, though. If Mr. Banks was working for Mr. Draper, wouldn’t those running the scheme at the docks know this and believe he was technically on their side? Or was Mr. Banks an honest sort of person and tried to stop them somehow? Then again, perhaps Mr. Banksdidn’tknow about the smuggling, was running an errand or some such for Mr. Draper at the warehouses, saw someone he recognized among the gang, and confronted him.”

“Well reasoned,” Mr. Fielding said with some admiration.